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Climate change and crucial environmental issues, such as global warming, soil degradation and water pollution have incited concern over the natural environment and have provoked both government and individual interventions in order to amplify constructive actions for environmental protection and restoration. Food is considered to be one of the most impactful consumption domains that substantially contribute to the overall carbon footprint. This chapter discusses the incentives and interventions oriented to support the transition to more sustainable agro-food systems. Furthermore, it provides a broader picture of stakeholders’ perceptions and adaptation to climate change uncertainties, as well as how climate change is perceived by consumers and how this may affect their food patterns, turning them to a more sustainable direction. Finally, a vocabulary of climate-related terms and a set of various exercises are presented, aiming to enhance students’ learning and critical thinking skills in the key role of the agro-food systems in climate change, sustainable development and environmental security.

Digitalization is the great global challenge of the twenty-first century including technologies, like, Internet-of-Things, Big Data and block-chain. New digital innovation can play a crucial role for the competitiveness and sustainability of agro-food small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) but in Europe it has been adopted by only 25% of farmers. Joined participation in EU R&D projects can boost SME's digital innovation. The paper aims to analyze how business networking, within a R&D project, affects the digital innovation of agro-food SMEs.

The paper investigates a single longitudinal case study focused on the local development phase of the EU Horizon 2020 project “Eugenius”, which aims to develop a European business network able to provide Earth observation services for natural resources management in agriculture. The focus is on the dyadic relationship between two firms, the winery Tormaresca and the digital innovation provider Planetek.

Results highlight that the process of commercialization of Planetek's innovative services significantly passes through a multifaceted process of development and adaptation of technology to the specific needs of the user company, allowed by the research project with no expense for both companies during the experimentation phase.

The paper deals with a new underexplored topic thus giving interesting insights into how the R&D project participation affects agro-food SMEs in adopting digital innovations, which are difficult to acquire directly, and how this influences the value creation process and their organizational structure.

Sustainability certification of agricultural commodities might be one measure to ensure deforestation-free supply chains. The purpose of this paper is to add to previous assessments of soy certification systems with respect to “zero deforestation” criteria by focusing on the aspect of traceability.

A conceptual framework for assessing certification systems is proposed based on a literature review. This concept is applied to 16 soy certification systems, considering previous studies and available chain-of-custody certification options.

Among the sample, five certification systems may contribute to ensuring deforestation-free soy supply chains, as they have relatively high “zero deforestation” and assurance requirements and support at least segregation. Other chain-of-custody systems are insufficient in terms of traceability, but still dominate the market.

The assessment considers only certification systems that have been benchmarked according to criteria developed by the European feed industry. Regular updates and further assessments of certification systems for other commodities are recommended.

Supply chain actors and policymakers are informed about certification systems that may ensure deforestation-free sourcing. However, different factors influence the implementation of zero deforestation commitments, such as adverse effects, economic trade-offs and new certification and traceability concepts.

The implementation of deforestation-free supply chains should contribute to achieving sustainable development goals. Potential adverse social effects need to be considered.

This study focuses on the so far rather neglected but essential aspect of traceability, which is required for ensuring deforestation-free sourcing along the whole supply chain.

This study aims to examine the importance that different intrinsic and extrinsic attributes represent for young Italian consumers of honey, analysing how these aspects influence the quality perceived during consumption. In addition, demographic and lifestyle aspects have been considered as possible discriminants influencing millennial generation honey consumers.

The authors performed a non-parametric rank-based test (Mann–Whitney U test) to analyse which attributes millennials value most, relating these to gender, sports activity or rural and urban origin. Then, to identify consumption patterns, principal component analysis, applying Kaiser normalisation and varimax rotation, was used.

This study confirms the remarkable sensitivity of the millennials towards environmental sustainability aspects. This attribute of choice seems particularly important for a clearly identifiable segment of the sample examined, represented by women who regularly practice sports and who come from urban areas. This result makes it possible to identify a type of consumer who, from early adulthood, is mindful of their lifestyle and ecological footprint. Moreover, it emerges that the most important attributes during purchasing are those related to label information, local product and origin, highlighting the awareness of young people and their maturity in the consumption of agro-food products.

The authors identified a trend in consumption that diverges from the classic patterns based on brand and the intrinsic characteristics of honey, but which forges new pathways more closely intertwined with the aspects of sustainability and the relationship with the territory, in addition to food safety.

In recent years, small farmers have been coming together more and more in networks and organizations, joining forces to resist the squeeze process that they are being subjected to in a system dominated by agribusiness. In alliance often with consumers and other actors concerned with issues of quality food, the environment, and social justice, these farmers are interested in developing alternative forms of production and consumption. These farmers, who are struggling to achieve self-reproduction and the establishment of sustainable agro-food systems, appear to be mainly concerned with the control of resources. The spread of this kind of experience evokes the issue of repeasantization. In this chapter, I use the case of the French association Réseau Semences Paysannes (RSP) to highlight some recent innovations in alternative agro-food models, as well as paths of research and rural development emerging within this framework.

This chapter explores a pathway towards achieving a sustainable and inclusive future through the implementation of systems innovation, systems leadership and systems change. The author highlights the importance of understanding complex systems and identifies several models that can be employed to drive systems change, including the iceberg model and multi-level perspective. The author stresses the significance of systems leadership and innovation in creating a sustainable and inclusive future. This means that leaders and managers need to shift their mindset from reductionism to systems thinking. Reductionism views complex systems as a collection of separate parts that can be studied independently. In contrast, systems thinking acknowledges the interconnectedness of all parts and how they influence each other. When they embrace systems thinking, leaders and managers can make systems innovation and drive systems change to achieve sustainable and inclusive growth. Achieving a sustainable and inclusive future requires a collective effort from individuals, organizations and governments. It demands a comprehensive understanding of the interdependencies and interactions within complex systems, as well as a willingness to adopt new ways of thinking and leading. This chapter presents a compelling case for adopting systems innovation, systems leadership and systems change as critical components in building a sustainable and inclusive future.

The purpose of this paper is to test the efficacy of the concept of food miles that has proved so popular with the public as a means of assessing the sustainability of produce.

This paper uses data from a UK major food importer and retailer to correlate carbon emissions from transport, and transport‐related storage, with food miles by creating farm‐specific mode‐weighted emission factors.

The correlation is found to be poor for a wide range of products and locations and it is clear that the mode of transport is as important as the distance, with sourcing from parts of the Mediterranean resulting in emissions greater than those from the Americas.

It is concluded that it is difficult to justify the use of food miles when attempting to influence purchasing behaviour. Because of this result, processes and tools have been developed that relay information on true transport‐related carbon emissions to customers and bulk purchasers that allow them to make informed decisions.

This paper questions the value of using the concept of food miles as a driving force for changing purchasing behaviour by either the customer or the purchasing department of a retailer.

This article sheds light on the missing links concerning the study of using integrated enabling technologies toward sustainable and circular agriculture supply chains by examining the available literature and proposing future research possibilities.

The relevant literature was researched through online databases such as Scopus, Web of Science, Academic Search Premier, Emerald, IEEE Xplore, Science Direct, World Scientific Net and Springer-Link Journals, covering a period from 1999 to 2020. A systematic literature review based on 75 papers analyzed the integration of the concepts of enabling technologies, sustainability, circular economy and supply chain performance in agriculture supply chains.

It was identified that enabling technologies and agriculture supply chains alone have been explored further than integrated enabling technologies, sustainability, circular economy, supply chain performance and agriculture supply chains. Enabling technologies and agriculture supply chains' main findings are: enabling technologies have been studied to improve food safety, food quality and traceability in agriculture supply chains. The main results regarding integrated enabling technologies, sustainability, circular economy, supply chain performance and agriculture supply chains are: Internet of Things and information communication technology play an important role in addressing food security, traceability and food quality, which help achieve sustainable development goals.

This review study provides 13 research questions to underpin future trends regarding integrated technologies' application in agriculture supply chains for circular and sustainable growth.

This paper aims to assess how cocoa supply chain companies disclose sustainable development goals (SDGs) information in their sustainability reports. This assessment highlights strategic aspects of sustainable supply chain management and reveals leveraging sustainability points in the cocoa industry.

The two-step qualitative approach relies on text-mining company reports and subsequent content analysis that identifies the topics disclosed and relates them to SDG targets.

This study distinguishes 18 SDG targets connected to cocoa traders and 30 SDG targets to chocolate manufacturers. The following topics represent the main nexuses of connections: decent labour promotion and gender equity (social), empowering local communities and supply chain monitoring (economic) and agroforestry and climate action (environmental).

By highlighting the interconnections between the SDGs targeted by companies in the cocoa supply chain, this paper sheds light on the strategic SDGs for this industry and their relationships, which can help to improve sustainability disclosure and transparency. One interesting input for companies is the improvement of climate crisis prevention, focusing on non-renewable sources minimisation, carbon footprint and clear indicators of ecologic materiality.

This study contributes to policymakers to enhance governance and accountability of global supply chains that are submitted to different regulation regimes.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no previous study has framed the cocoa industry from a broader SDG perspective. The interconnections identified reveal the key goals of the cocoa supply chain and point to strategic sustainability choices for companies in an important global industry.